Okay y’all. It’s been a tough last few weeks with everything that is happening in our country. We have all been dealing with a power keg of feelings as we navigate the late-breaking updates that barrage our social feeds every minute. Oh, and are we still dealing with the confusion and uncertainty in regards to COVID-19? Yep! Additionally, and because of the preventative social distancing measures, I am still on furlough, as are so many in a range of industries in this shaky economy. Sigh.

As we continue to take a stand to what is happening and stand up to the challenges that 2020 has brought forth, it is important to disconnect periodically. We all need a moment in the day to take a deep breath and turn off the outside noise.

A way that has always helped me deal with stress is through the power of music. Songs have a way of connecting with every mood you may be feeling based on your day, your stress level, your local weather and your overall mental space.

Let’s take a step back. From a young age I have always loved the concept of mixes. I secretly always wanted to be a DJ. I remember putting on cassette mixes for my family at home where I would provide broadcast commentary before each song. This progressed to creating mix CDs with the dawn of iTunes. Let me just say that I took this seriously. I would literally sit in front of a computer for a 3 hour time period to strategically determine which songs would be placed and in what order from a beat and flow standpoint. The goal was always to ensure seamless song transition, to the point to where the whole CD sounded like one track. I know, I am crazy.

So here we are today. Technology has changed and we are in the world of streaming. I have, thus, moved this passion to the world of Spotify and am constantly tinkering with creating new and adding new songs to playlists that fit a certain purpose. On a broad level, feel free to explore and follow my profile here, but for now I wanted to dive in to one particular one today….

I call it “Soul”:

This playlist encompasses slow to mid-tempo r&b songs over the last few decades (though with prominence to the 90’s). Representing almost 20 hours of music through 250 songs, these are smooth jams to sit back and groove to, make dinner with, or have in the background with your friends. I personally love listening to my soul mix when it is raining out, or when sitting on the couch with a martini (yes, that’s how I roll). Upbeat hip-hop with this particular playlist, as those should define their own mix. These are tunes that have melt in melody, rhythm and fit an overriding theme of “new love” and “love lost” in their lyrics. So many of these songs bring back MTV memories from growing up, and it has been fun discovering new tracks that I have never heard before that I am now obsessed with.

In nod to the amazing new jack swing sub-genre brought to the forefront by Teddy Riley as well as Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, below are a few of my soul concert pics from over the years:

Music has a way of bringing us together and I hope this playlist provides you with a little sunshine through the storms of stress this year. Let me know your thoughts on the playlist and what songs you like. It is also worth mentioning that if there is something I missed on this playlist, by all means please share that with me. I would love to add it!

Before I go, and in preparation for my next post, I am going to head back and explore one of my past vacations. Is there a particular state or country you would like to learn about? Or would you just like to learn a random funny story about myself from my own journey? Let me know!

End of line.